The Scimitar is a type of sword, normally with a deeply curved blade with a single cutting edge, though some are known to exist with a blade very shallowly curved. This curve makes the Scimitar almost exclusively a slashing sword. 

The Scimitar can be found in one or two handed variants, with blades ranging in length from around 30" to 36", and the blades, while commonly depicted as being very wide (from cutting edge to the rear of the blade), seem most often have been very thin, very much like the shamshir or talwar swords. 

It seems likely that scimitar-type weapons were developed from examples of swords brought by the conquering Macedonians under Alexander the Great, such as the kopis sword, itself derived from the Egyptian khopesh sword. Further, it's possible that the Falchion swords employed in the Middle Ages by Europeans were inspired by the scimitars of the Turks. Modern examples of similar blades are cavalry sabers and cutlasses of pirate fame. 

The scimitar has a recognized shape that is different than that of other swords.  The scimitar generally has a curved edge , where the outer tip of the blade tends to be wider than the hilt-side of the blade.  Because of the broad face of the blade, the scimitar is quite a display weapon.  The width contains so much sheer volume of metal that it cannot be helped but noticed regardless of how tucked away into a corner the sword may be.  This unique sword also creates a unique weapon as it will, depending upon the smith, have a basket for the hand guard much like the rapier sword.  The scimitar is becoming more sought after, and therefore has generated a supply of some stunning swords that will be sure to put the Scimitar on everyone’s must have list.